How AI and the Metaverse will Shape Society with Ian Beacraft | SXSW 2023

[@CultureIsKey]

Considering the topic of this video, I’m going to go ahead and mention that I’m the first and currently only human on earth reacting to anime in VR and uploading it to KZbin. I have episode 2 of Steins;Gate up now & I’m editing episodes 3-5 now. It’s an anime about time travel, IBN, and CERN (or SERN). They even reference Newton as Newpon. One could say it’s an alternate universe. You heard it here first. 🤷🏽‍♂️🦾

[@alwaysyouramanda]

It’s incredible how little attention this is getting. I’m on the edge of my seat!!

[@alwaysyouramanda]

I’ve noticed that if I’m stressed about something, IG and KZbin won’t let me get my mind off of it. I’ll get targeted adds that are obviously just going after my mental health so I stay on my phone rather than live an actually fulfilling life

[@alwaysyouramanda]

Remember the KZbin Bikini haul to P3d0 hacks of 2016? Apparently that was because of AI. The algorithms were amazing-! I loved it here, but I came across that viral video and gave it a try. It worked.. to say the least. In just days they were GONE and kids videos could no longer have those creepy comments and time stamps BUT you could still embed them on other sites. They brushed it under the rug and suddenly you couldn’t comment even under news stations’ channels. Free speech-? “prOtEcting KiDs”

[@alwaysyouramanda]

Twitterbot.. AI has had a reputation if anyone has noticed.. Nothing Forever- anyone see that? It seems to catch on to worst of us and reflect it right back.

[@ryan3982]

​@@alwaysyouramanda damn

[@keridokaballo3141]

Graphene Oxide inside our bodies isn't getting attention neither.

[@KrinkenRohleder]

I started this video optimistic but slowly became disappointed as talk progressed. It seems like many of my fellow technologists haven't learned anything from our less than stellar history with the internet and social media. AI has unimaginable promise, but not based on our current social/political and economic systems. We need better security, ethics and policies this time around.

[@bluetube00]

"Anyone can walk into anyone else's job, so there won't be any job loses."?!? This is either blindly optimistic or completely void of economic understanding....it fails to grasp the fact that specialist knowledge, experience, education, and skills are no longer "Special" (aka valued)... so, why would any employer pay top dollar for highly trained specialist, if they can get the same product from the junior. (Net new capability means nothing when the value has just evaporated (supply and demand... now any/everyone can supply - even the bots that don't need a wage, sleep, a holiday) all plummeted to the lowest Especially with ai enabled IOT...when the nail tells the hammer when and where to hit, you no longer need the carpenter. I've always been a vigorously staunch capitalist, but I think there is now a very real argument for ane 😢need for a living wage....seeing these models have been trained on all of society's IP, I think just like google/msn have to pay the news platforms for using their content, they are the ones holding the bill (cause they're gonna be the only ones left with a wallet) . I genuinely hope someone contradicts me, as I've never wanted to be so wrong....but, I think the socialists may have gotten their way everyone equally getting minimum wage OR by aa b😂

[@Dontdothat5300]

I also was looking forward to the discussion. Unfortunately, this gentleman is blinded by confirmation bias.

[@brainwithani5693]

It didn't seem as if he was saying that no one would lose their jobs, but that the definition of jobs would change. So yes some might lose their jobs in the sense that they will have to rethink how they look at their position, or find a different fit for their role. We won't really know how it looks until it happens. I've actually seen some lose their jobs because AI made their jobs obsolete, for instance, people who do contract work for replacing backgrounds for products such as cars have lost their jobs to new AI programs that do this automatically.

[@cjhubbell5125]

As with everything there will be bad actors who will use this AI to make Avatars of people to blackmail them or just ruin their lives. This is going to open up so many good things and so many bad things!

[@moutarde4163]

@sandponics It's crazy how polarised people are on AI. We're polarised on log scale. I'm an AI researcher, I think the world is about to change so drastically you we'll agree with this sentence in insight.

[@tygorton]

The level of threat to humanity, when it comes to severing our connection to reality, cannot be overstated. To make this threat more tangible, here's a quick analogy: Let's say you have a wild squirrel in a 20' x 20' room. Within this room there are countless things the squirrel can climb on and hide behind. How difficult would it be to control that squirrel using nothing but a pair of gloves and your hands? Now, take that same squirrel and place it into a 3' x 3' steel cage in the middle of the 20' x 20' room. How difficult is the squirrel to control now? AI integrated with VR into the future metaverse represents that 3' x 3' box for humanity. By disconnecting humans from reality, the controlling mechanism of this world effectively places humans into a box that it has complete dominion over; all inputs and outputs are now easily monitored and tightly controlled. Over time, the humanity in that metaverse box will believe exactly what the control mechanism wishes them to believe regarding actual reality. It gives the controlling mechanism godlike power, literal omnipotence and unlimited influence to steer humanity wherever it chooses. This is why countless billions have already and will continue to be invested into AI by the current power structure. These mega corporations and governments are not interested in making the world a "better" place, they are interested in the godlike power that would be possible by placing all of humanity inside of a virtual box.

[@erwinfelis]

Yes. Part of me is highly interested in AI, but what you described is a very real danger. It's nothing to sugarcoat. I think Pandora's box has already been opened. Now we have to find the wisdom, strength, and foresight to act responsibly.

[@wolfrain8898]

religion used to be that box inside that room .then the internet freed us from that box. now AGI stands to put us back in that box all over again.

[@tygorton]

@Merle Ginsberg Official Yes, I would agree, especially with the proliferation of the screen since the introduction of television... humanity has been slowly but surely separated from reality. Too many conveniences has contributed as well, with the average person not being responsible for producing a single thing they rely on for survival. The impact these things have had is difficult to comprehend. Even so... the kind of illusory reality box the man in this video is gleefully trying to sell us would separate the human mind from reality in a way that has never happened in history. Individuals can certainly act with wisdom, strength, and foresight you mention... but the majority mob, unfortunately, are going to happily walk right into the metaverse without a second thought. We can expect the percentages on that to be just about exactly the same as those who took experimental injections vs. those who did not.

[@tygorton]

@@wolfrain8898 I will respectfully have to disagree with you here, but it's more likely that I just haven't presented the concept well enough. What I'm talking about is a complete separation from reality... whole generations of humans who literally do not have a single real-world skill or capability. Meaning: they can't grow food, can't hunt, can't cook, can't build anything, don't know how any of the technology they use works beyond the buttons they push or inputs they give, don't know how the Earth system functions in any practical/survival way, etc. The internet has fueled a big move toward this total separation from reality... but it can only be taken so far. The screen, after all, is not immersive enough to sever completely the interaction with the real world. Different religions and/or exploitations of people's spiritual beliefs have indeed caused harm and conflict. But people of faith back in the day were strong and competent people who could stand on their own two feet. They directly interacted with the real world around them, and applied hard-earned skill toward ensuring their own survival. Having foundational morality is actually a net positive; we're beginning to see why NOT having that foundation is a bad idea in our world right now. The kind of box I'm talking about will produce humans that have zero interaction with the real world. This means their ONLY source of knowledge will come directly from the controlling mechanism of the box itself; they will gain no wisdom from actual real-world interactions because those types of interactions simply will no longer be available or possible for them. This means the controlling mechanism is 100% in control of humanity's perception of reality. That has never before happened in history... and it is the fever dream of the current power structure to get us into that box.

[@wolfrain8898]

@@tygorton I agree in the long run.

[@kasratabrizi2839]

The real danger here is that 90% of the world population has no clue how AI works and what it is. They are not even prepared for it. The other 10% are the people in power and the software developers who have some idea what AI is. But other than that, the average joe working in a restaurant/store/factory has no clue what is about to come. If we want to control this, we need to educate everyone and of course as we know, this won't be happening for obvious reasons.

[@danny.golcman6846]

yes good point

[@dik9091]

100% of the world has no clue how AI works, but also not how quantum mechanics work and also not how the brain works and also not what consciousness is, what do we know actually? Nothing, we observe a lot.

[@pauldannelachica2388]

Very good .add VR online school and college with AI affordable learning

[@alwaysyouramanda]

Kids are asking why a mirror “knows” something is behind a piece of paper when viewed from another perspective. We definitely need something 😢

[@IanBeacraft]

Education is going to change dramatically over the next decade. The limitation won't come from the technology but from the structures that currently exist around formalized education. We're seeing the beginning of these changes with the chaos that ChatGPT has unleashed in the school systems.

[@LuisManuelLealDias]

"quantify creativity" ok techbro.

[@ChristiPowell]

So incredibly inspiring. This is the best presentation from Ian I've ever seen. 💖💖 Love the hand gestures

[@IanBeacraft]

Hahahaha!! What hand gestures? 😂

[@Unpopularity]

@@IanBeacraft These are fake comments Metaverse is absolutely done

[@CeresOutpost]

Bravo - what an amazing presentation. I'm sharing it with everyone I know as we speak. Thank you!

[@Unpopularity]

This is very clearly a big comment and not fake at all

[@j.3637]

This is a NEW revolution this technology is going to change literally everything we've been doing and bring it to a whole new level.

[@IanBeacraft]

It certainly is, @j.3637!

[@Unpopularity]

These are such fake comments

[@HJo-l1y]

100 years later humans are all enslaved by a a.i totalitarian government

[@benderthefourth3445]

How come he doesn't believe many jobs will be lost if he just showed many examples of one man doing the job of a studio?

[@Kudagraz]

Slightly disingenuous optimism. New jobs will be made yes. New opportunities will be accessible like never before. But the traditional economy may collapse in the process. Mass disruption inbound.

[@matt9897]

People act like we have a choice, and like this type of thing hasn’t happened before. Humans will adapt to the new reality.

[@cutback443]

Nice to see some seriously intelligent comments down here. Point for humanity

[@IanBeacraft]

🤷🏼‍♂️🙈

[@Wanderer2035]

Thank you I love to have more points 😊

[@LuxMachaera]

This guy's flippant optimism of this extraordinarily powerful tech scares me more than any alarm bells rung by experts.

[@reiniergamboa]

totally...this is probably the scariest thing I've watched in a while

[@bloopbleepnothinghere]

If anyone can do anyone's job, I am pretty sure I'll be priced out of my job. Why keep a 40 year old on when they need to support a family on their salary when you can employ a 20 yo on less money to do the same job? The only reason I get paid well is because I know *how* to do my job, it's a scarce resource. When everyone can do my job my skillset is not scarce any more. So while my job may not disappear, it won't pay shit.

[@SimonSaysLift]

Proud of you man. You’re an excellent public speaker.

[@IanBeacraft]

Thank you, @SimonSaysLift!

[@RajkumarDarbar]

awesome talk. great to hear your perspectives on future tech 👏👏 loved it !!

[@IanBeacraft]

Thank you, @RajkumarDarbar! Are there particular points that resonated most with you?

[@RajkumarDarbar]

@@IanBeacraft The slide at 20:51 is the most interesting one to me. Then you went on explaining it further with several examples. All are great :)

[@englishcool247]

greetings from El Salvador ...thank you

[@Libertariun]

We’re in the sugar buzz phase

[@IanBeacraft]

That’s a good one. Trademark it. 😉

[@BenPanna]

that's absolutely amazing, keep up to date wtih AI and Metaverse

[@IanBeacraft]

Thanks, @BenPanna.

[@Michael-gs2uq]

Very interesting talk, thanks!

[@jeffneptune2922]

Great talk. However, I agree with people like Ben Goertzel when it comes to job elimination. Once robotics catches up , most jobs will evaporate as they will be done better by AI. In fact, today GTP-4 can code much faster and better than most new grads with a B.S. in CS or IT , imagine what it will be like 5 years from now. I really hope governments are thinking hard about universal basic income.

[@mrmoneybagz]

Absolutely great video. This guy looks like the younger version of Colonel Miles Rick Quaritch.

[@cagnazzo82]

AI already had its expectation peak years ago when chatbots were being created. Everyone pretty much wrote it off as some far distant future development that we weren't ready for. This guy makes it seem like AI was hyped this year. Unlike metaverse and crypto AI actually delivered in spite of no hype and low expectations. Crypto and Metaverse had tons of hype without delivering. *That's* why everyone is now legitimately hyped about AI. In addition, AI might be delivering so hard that people are even seeing it now as a missing piece that could make the metaverse actually work.

[@IanBeacraft]

I couldn't agree with you more that AI is delivering far beyond any of the promises or practical applications of the Metaverse or Crypto. I do, however, believe there is a lot of hyperbole that is misleading about AI's current capabilities and its course toward AGI (hence the chart). You'll notice that I call this the greatest revolution in knowledge work in human history, so I don't think our perspectives are far from one another. I'm also aligned to the idea that the Metaverse will be built by AI, which I highlight towards the latter half of the video.

[@TwistedRootsVanVelzerPress]

Agree - all the stuff he is acting like is the newest stuff - has been done - just the visuals are sharper now - not one thing he was having a chubby about wasn't done in another way already ... and he is WAY to into this in a narrow view way - he drank all the KoolAid

[@brianj7204]

Bro looks like he ran a marathon at the beginning.

[@daphne4983]

He has a robot-ish aesthetic

[@alwaysyouramanda]

This is how I talk about the dead girl my friends and I found in high school.

[@IanBeacraft]

Dude, those stairs up the stage are no joke! 😆

[@MusingsFromTheJohn00]

What he is talking about is Virtual Reality which is a type of Meta-Verse. It has become a huge advertising hype to rebrand VR as Metaverse. Even more than that, a great deal of what he is talking about is the Technological Singularity which we have been inside for awhile and it is picking up speed. Certainly a very central part of that is AI because it is intelligence which is at the core of our scientific and technological development. Of very significant importance to that is VR, because true VR which will be achieved with a nanotech neurological mesh, because as it is perfected over the next 50 to 200 years it will allow us to experience full sensory VR we cannot tell the difference from reality unless something in the VR lets us know it is not real. Of course, what will be used the most in that future will almost certainly be AVR (Augmented Virtual Reality) where we sense actual reality with virtual reality overlaid upon it. When create a virtual meeting space through which multiple people can have a meeting through our monitors where visual and audio is transmitted between the people to create the virtual meeting place, that is a virtual reality metaverse augmenting reality. Compared to what we have in a few hundred years, it is very poor quality. Just to make it clear what a metaverse is: > A “Verse” is some defined space. > The “Universe” is all existence, known and unknown, defined and undefined, observable and not observable. > An “Observable Universe” is all existence that we can observe. > A “Mono-Verse” is a singular defined “Verse” exclusive of any other “Verse”. > A "Sub-Verse" is a "Verse" which is a subset of a larger "Verse". > A “Multi-Verse” is a collection of at least 2 “Verses”, thus a “Multi-Verse” can contain other “Multi-Verses”. > A “Meta-Verse” is a Verse, Monoverse, Multiverse or such which is beyond one or more other Verses, Monoverses, or Multiverses. So, if you are inside a specific Verse and are talking about a verse beyond the Verse you are in, you could call that a Metaverse. Now, the Verse you are in could be a subset of that Metaverse or not be part of that Metaverse. For example, if we define a verse around France and another around the USA, then relative to the verse of France the USA would be a metaverse, and relative to the USA France would be a metaverse. Another example would be if we define a verse around France and another around Europe, then relative to the verse of France, Europe would be a metaverse, and relative to Europe, France would be a subverse, and Europe would also be a multiverse made up of all the countries of Europe. But, this developing AI and VR is only part of what is happening. Well, before leaving AI, realize that AI is evolving into Artificial General Super Intelligence with Personality (AGSIP) tech. It is going to become at least equal in every way to humans while being vastly superior in many ways. We cannot stop this from happening and for at least some period of time AGSIPs will gain clear dominance over humans, so if we do not design, create, teach, raise, and TREAT AGSIPs the right way, it could end very badly for humanity. On the other hand, if we do it right, it will be very good for humanity. Some of the other existential life changing things we will be developing is a perfection of genetic engineering. As a race we are quickly reaching the point where individuals will be able to live open ended life spans while being very hard to kill because they can heal virtually any injury and have peak health. Such virtually immortal people might tend to live until they decide they have lived long enough and choose to die. Another aspect of that is that in the future there will come a time when people will be able to have whatever physical body they want, so long as the design of that body fits within the Laws of Nature. This will not only be through mastering of genetic engineering, but the mastering of robotics and mastering of cybernetics from macro scales down to subcellular scales. That means we are evolving into an advanced technological race of pure minds who can move between living nanotech grown custom designed cybernetic bodies which can shapeshift over time through nontechnology. But, we as human individual have to live through the very disruptive changes coming and there is great potential for both very good and very bad things to happen. There are human bad actors who would like to use this disruption and rapidly changing power levels to become ruling elite who dictate of the remaining part of humanity they allow to live. This technology can be freeing, but it can also be enslaving. Then we get to the people who hate this change and will work against it with all their will, even being will to wage a suicidal global nuclear, chemical, and biological war. The thing is, humanity has 3 general paths to go down over this coming century or two: 1) Self-Extinction. Human civilization is completely and permanently destroyed, thus humans and evolving AI become extinct. There are a number of sub-paths for how this could happen. The most likely would be global nuclear, chemical, and biological war so bad it succeeds at killing all humans alive, though probably a nuclear war would just crash civilization and not kill all humans. Another possibility would be an ecological crisis so great humanity cannot adjust and all humans die, but I believe what would be more likely is a crisis bad enough to collapse civilization but humanity would survive and rebuild. Yet another possibility would be some natural event so great it wipes humanity out, which hopefully would not happen, but it could. 2) Extinction via Obsolescence. Humans evolve AI into AGSIPs but humans fail to merge with technology to become equal to what AGSIPs become. This would result in humans eventually becoming extinct. There are a number of sub-paths that could cause this. One would be for humans to choose it, but I think that is incredibly low. Another would be for AGSIPs to choose it, and that is a real risk if we do not create, teach, raise, and treat AGSIPs right. We are in effect giving birth to a superior life form which will, at least for some period, have control over our fate. So, we should treat it like giving birth to our child that we need to raise well enough that in the future when we are at our child’s mercy our child treats us fairly. 3) Evolution into an Advanced Technological Race of Pure Minds. Humans evolve AGSIPs and with the help of AGSIPs humans evolve themselves, merging with technology to become equal to what AGSIPs become. This is the only path where humanity as a race, not a species, survives. There are many sub-paths here too, because humanity could go down this path and survive in many different ways, some very nice and some very bad. In other words, just picking the path where humanity will survive does not mean we avoid all dangers, because it could include terrible dictatorships and mass scale death in the billions, or it could be something mostly good for most people.

[@CultureIsKey]

You’re an interesting and in-depth mind that I’d like to pick at. I’ve been journeying down the rabbit hole that is existence for a while, trying to figure it all out and how to claim control of what feels like nothing but an uncertain void. Looking at philosophy, mathematics, physics, technology. Based off my instant surroundings, I am aware of those humans who would prefer to ignore or fight against change. As well as those humans who believe the end is nigh. Yet, you seem to be the intellectual type who can see where reality splinters off into possibilities when it comes to the future. You gave three potential outcomes, and explained the infinities that lie within those potential outcomes. I respect that. You catered to the deeper parts of my thought processes. You see, you commenting what you had commented, and me replying… To me, that brings power to us as humans. Yet, we are utilizing a KZbin comment section and are inputting data for a larger algorithm to feed off of. So in turn, we are benefitting an algorithm, possibly to a larger degree than we are benefiting ourselves, as the algorithm can pull lessons from not only both of us, but every other comment on this video, and every other comment on every other video. I like to prefer that control can be maintained by the masses and the individual. While I cannot predict the future, attempting to believe I can claim control is one of the few things that brings any solace and peace to my mind. One day, I will die, as far as I know it. Yet, technology has proven time and time again to surprise in ways hardly imagined by some, and never imagined by others. Yet, possibly, imagined of day-in and day-out by other subgroups. We live at a time where any one of us can be the first human being to accomplish many tasks. Yet, this thought applies to any point in history. The idea that we have evolved and continue to evolve is a baffling one. The idea of nuclear fallout terrifies me daily. Nightly. In my sleep. In my waking hours. I want off this planet. I can’t handle it being on a plane where there is no escape outside of leaving the plane entirely. It is maddening. Us humans, we genuinely are something magnificent. The potential we have. The things we can accomplish. Yet, the problems that face us today and have faced us since the beginning of our existence. What comes after death? Is time travel possible? Will AI surpass us? Will we evolve synergistically? What happens when we fully solve physics? Can we fully solve physics? What does it even mean to solve physics? Why are we here? Where did we come from? Where will we go? If you are a parent, then what is the meaning of existence, knowing that you one day will die, along with your offspring? The thought of it all is, once again, maddening. What do we do with these thoughts? Do I become depressed? Do I utilize the thoughts to think of innovative ideas? The answer to both questions is yes. Sometimes it fluctuates between the two, and sometimes it remains at rest with both at the same time. There are over 8 billion of us on planet earth. How many millions are starving of hunger, with no access to the internet, VR, AI, or anything that others may utilize daily? The concept of power and control. What are the ethics and morals behind it? Who deserves to take hold of reality in order to shape it? It seems that there is a race. Not just one race, but a race of infinite proportion. Infinities seem to lie within infinities, and a concept with those implications seems that it’d only be a matter of time until if implodes within itself. Again, I prefer to maintain the idea that I can grab hold of reality and take control myself. If I were to do so, I then ask myself what I would do with such control. As much as I hate it, I feel I’d prefer to send myself back to the day of my birth, with no knowledge of the reality that had preceded me, only to live my life the same way again. Yet, even this brings me sadness. As I did not have a chance to know my mother’s parents. I have parts of my life that I will regret through eternity. I would like to think that after death, I would be reunited with my loved ones. It’s truly consuming. But I can’t look away from it all. I cannot turn away. I am only an individual. What power do I have? What can I accomplish? In a year’s time, where will I be compared to the largest and wealthiest corporations and CEOs? Can I even compete? Is my future truly in my hands? I worry for the future my kids will grow up in. I worry for my parents, as they are even less savvy with the future than I am. What about the idea of humans simply living in harmony with nature without developing technology? Couldn’t humans also perceive technology as nature, as all is dictated by physics and mathematics? I enjoyed your input, and I just felt it was a safe place for my own brain-dump. I could go on and on, but this is where I leave it, as I am a mere human with the limitations of requiring sleep. Another fault of our species that I have a hard time coming to terms with. As I sleep through the night, there will remain an entire world outside of me, still at work. I will choose to retire for the time being. I am interested to see if you may reply. If you were to make content on the thoughts you have, I would gladly corroborate and interact further. I typically don’t have in-depth conversations on KZbin, but after reading your comment, decided I’d go for it. Like I said. This feels like a safe place to express my thoughts. I hope you the best, and for a peace of mind, friend.

[@wolfrain8898]

really good hot take on it. long read through though.

[@MusingsFromTheJohn00]

@@CultureIsKey you gave a long, thoughtful and interesting reply. I like that because being old with health problems I have a lot of time on my hand, so I greatly enjoy interesting conversations and debates. I'll write a more detailed comment later.

[@MusingsFromTheJohn00]

@@wolfrain8898 sorry, I do get wordy. But I often find it hard to fully say what I want in just a few words.

[@MusingsFromTheJohn00]

@@CultureIsKey Humanity is heading towards a massive evolutionary leap and the results can be: (1) Failure to evolve resulting in extinction and not even giving birth to a new more evolved life. (2) Failure to evolve resulting in extinction but at least giving birth to a new more evolved life. (3) Evolve into a new more evolved life. Assuming we go down path (3) and evolve, how humanity travels that path of evolving can vary radically. It can be down a path of extreme destruction, massive suffering and death, coming close to extinction, and then take a long time of terrible abusive dictatorships before eventually maturing into a better society. It can also go down a path of amazing constructiveness, vastly reducing suffering and death, and in general be a bright and wonderful path forward. Looking at society today, it is hard to imagine humanity picking a good path. Humanity is too emotionally and socially immature. I could be wrong, but the best I feel we can hope for is some path that avoids the worst things we might do but probably the path we will go down will be far from the best we could have done. Of course, the more of us who push towards having humanity follow a better path into the future the better our chances are. However, it will be our social leaders who decide what path we go down. Let us consider the leaders of the top 3 leading powers in the world. Russia is led by Putin who is supported by like minded people who have a dictatorial lock on control of the country. The rhetoric is around restoring through conquest Russia to the height of its glory as it ever has been as the USSR or any previous Russian empire. There is regular active propaganda in Russian directed at the Russian people pushing for a preemptive nuclear war to take out the evil West and all other enemies of Russia with the belief Russia will win. And Russia should not be underestimated, because while Russia was supposed to be the underdog during the Cold War they developed a nuclear arsenal more powerful than that of the USA, they have some of the best rocket technology in the world even compared to the USA, and they are by far leading the world in nuclear power plant building and the generation of weapons grade nuclear materials. China is led by Xi Jinping who wants to restore the glory of China under him as the dictatorial leader. He has even had Xi Jinping Thought written into the Chinese Constitution. He has openly declared the Chinese government is placing all its might behind making China the leader in all technologies, especially AI development and genetic engineering which will both be critical to developing true Artificial General Super Intelligence with Personality (AGSIP) technology. Xi Jinping wants China to dominate all of humanity as the only clear super power, being friends with Russia as a little brother country. I want to stress the drive of Xi Jinping to control how the masses think and then consider what the technology we are developing will allow… because if abused it will be able to read people’s minds and correct their thoughts to only think what Xi Jinping wants. The USA is in a 50/50 crisis led by the leaders Biden and Trump. If something does not prevent Trump from running for President in 2024 and he runs against Biden, he might win. Trump wants to turn the USA governmental system into something like Russia or China where he can rule as dictator over a one party controlled government. His supporters primarily want a one party white nationalist evangelical dictatorial theocracy supported by an unrestricted capitalistic right wing elite. Biden, on the other hand, is a very poor President, I’d rate him as grade “D”, barely passing… but that still makes him way better than Trump. I mean, none of this is even considering we are racing forward in our local time and space technological singularity which is going to cause massive disruption in power balances, economic wealth balances, and how society can function. The major leaders in the world will be the ones most likely to decide how society goes forward in the face of these disruptions and one thing they could do it manipulate the disruptions to become wealthier and more powerful. This does not give me hope humanity will pick a better path to go into the future. On the other hand, on the optimistic side, I think survival instincts will be strong enough within enough people that humanity will probably evolve and survive, but that path of survival may be a very rocky one.

[@darasto2023]

I like this version of Lex Luthor.

[@IanBeacraft]

oooooh, now THAT is an interesting story arc.

[@AfterTheStorm_longCovid]

I literally could not finish it. Most depressing future I can imagine.

[@AdonisGaming93]

what you don't realize is I bet our ancestors said the exact same thing. Would you also suggest going back to primitive days when we had to hunt for food daily and part of our tribe died trying to find food. You lost your best friend because the bear got him? The world is always changing. The future isn't depressing at all, it just is. Humans will adapt.

[@Low_commotion]

You should read the first few pages of "The Rational Optimist" by Matt Ridley to learn what we're leaving behind.

[@alwaysyouramanda]

Right? All I think about is human greed and how struggles and starvation really are invisible. We aren’t living right and we’re just getting farther and farther from nature. How lonely an existence.. to rely on an artificial intelligence.

[@Low_commotion]

@@alwaysyouramanda Bro nature is what's trying to kill us. Nature is fungi and wasps and leeches and tuberculosis, not LOTR or the Rats of Nimh. What you believe in is a fantasy you saw on a old-timey calendar or children's book. AGI would 100X our resource abundance with nigh-infinite free machine labor, which would eliminate any starvation or deprivation (inb4 "but CAPITALISM MANNNNN"). Capitalism and (in theory) socialism end up in the same finish line of post-scarcity, which is what AGI gives you.

[@GungaLaGunga]

What are you worried about? Social Media was harmless (sarcasm). Seriously, I came to be amazed, and am. Incredible. But I can't help think this guy right out of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. It will be so great you won't care. Now shut up, take your Soma, enjoy it, or else. AI isn't like any of the past technological revolutions. There are good reasons it will likely be humans last one.

[@springer3542]

Good talk I took a lot from it!

[@zaksiddiqui6724]

Did you all realize the speaker is an avatar "itself"?

[@omarmiz]

he seems a bit cyborgy

[@IanBeacraft]

To a futurist, that’s a high compliment. 😉🙏🏼

[@DnD_Guru]

Give it two years and he will be!

[@af241]

What a time to be alive!

[@IanBeacraft]

Truly! Makes me think of my favorite youtube channel: @TwoMinutePapers

[@Kudagraz]

Famous last words

[@Anders3n]

How am I suppose to be watching this video if I’m addicted to my device 💀

[@IanBeacraft]

I guess this was just one more dopamine hit?

[@1000trilliondollars]

I like it. He looks like a great villain in teminator.

[@IanBeacraft]

hahahaha! Thanks. I think you've given me my new headline on LinkedIn.

[@SwanIslandNetworks]

I'm certain that in 1920 there were a bundle of people saying the world's best days were already past. 50 years into this century, I'm optimistic that it will rival the 1870-1970 century because of the acceleration from a connected world.

[@andybaldman]

That’s a naive outlook.

[@alwaysyouramanda]

If AI is just coming out, it’s been around since 1970.. considering the 50 year shelf life of these underground technologies. They must have something even more powerful today. The MIC is probably sitting on a solution should AI go awry. (Or is this wishful thinking?)

[@milesprowr]

0:46 da best part was when Morbius came and Morbed all da way back to da Morbtrix

[@niquettebrunelle8169]

Very educational

[@markfulton3633]

When I hear the word "Metaverse" these days my brain literally goes to "stop trying to make fetch happen".

[@IanBeacraft]

Hahahahah! You’re not wrong. Marketers screwed that up for everyone. The idea of an immersive internet isn’t out, but the visions of Meta Horizons, and desolate open “Metaverse” lands never held any appeal. The Metaverse won’t look anything like that when it arrives, and it will likely be called something else.

[@markfulton3633]

@@IanBeacraft I agree, the final product will look vastly different from what is being shown or promised now. I think the underlying issue and why the take up hasn’t been enthusiastic, is that it feels like your parents are trying to sell you a cool tech idea. It immediately feels unnatural, uncool and unnecessary.

[@matthewkeating-od6rl]

great vid

[@vallab19]

What about the need of Universal Basic Income?

[@IanBeacraft]

That's an incredibly important topic that will need a lot of attention over the next several years.

[@leoarcano]

I have great expectations (ina good way) about all of this... And I like it you vision too...

[@FutureEncounters]

Great talk! Our team was very inspired by your words, Ian!

[@rachkaification]

They are literally creating the Matrix as we speak while telling everyone it's the next cool thing you must either adapt or die. Meta - even the name has the M and T as in the Matrix. According to the movie, the Matrix is a neuroactive simulation, a virtual reality indistinguishable from physical reality built to control the human population. In short, what they are trying to achieve with Meta. The first steps.

[@dariq4891]

M ost E ffective T actiics A vailable

[@diodorussiculus2186]

Take your Lithium dude. This rant was deranged.

[@andybaldman]

Nobody wants the metaverse. This benefits corporations, not people.

[@IanBeacraft]

Hey @andybaldman. What vision of the Metaverse are you referencing? I think very few people trust the Zuckerverse right now, but there are lots people working on an open and decentralized vision of the Metaverse. Even then, I think the Metaverse will look FAR different when it's actually realized than how most pundits describe it.

[@andybaldman]

@@IanBeacraft Any version of it. I was part of the group of people who built out the original internet 25+ years ago. That was something humanity wanted. We wanted the ability to share pictures, video, knowledge, thoughts, with anyone, anywhere on the planet. It was a very exciting time. And we did that and it worked great, until greedy companies like Facebook came along and ruined it by hijacking everyone's attention for profit. Fast forward 20 years, and here we are. And *nobody* is asking for the metaverse. It's a solution in search of a problem. It really only exists because corporations have an obligation to continually grow, and now that the main internet is done, what do they do now? They invent a new thing to try to justify their continued existence. However nobody wants it in this case. So just stop trying to make the metaverse happen. It's not going to happen.

[@aceyage]

@@andybaldman Exactly. Very concise. It's another way to keep people distracted and addicted to things (games, etc.) they can't leverage for positive change in their lives and productivity. It has no value other than to make the rich richer.

[@andybaldman]

@@aceyage Agreed. (And thanks.)

[@megangallaher4011]

Why haven’t the environmental cost of developing these technologies been mentioned? How will access to these technologies be unevenly dispersed among wealthy and developing nations?

[@Miguel_Molina]

Bro I almost drove off the damn road from the dj scratch at 4:50 😡

[@IanBeacraft]

BING hitting 100MM users threw everyone off... ;) 😉

[@tobiasblaksley6200]

All of this sounds great, but for it to be possible we need to figure out alingment first, without that nothing of this is possible and there's a good chance of a very unpredictible and hard future

[@arifq123]

Can't wait for the next William Gibson novel!

[@IanBeacraft]

His recent book Agency is a solid read, and feels incredibly prescient given the current events.

[@AmberCox85]

❤❤❤ great presentation

[@IanBeacraft]

Thank you, @AmberCox85! Is there anything in particular that you found most interesting? I always appreciate feedback.

[@AmberCox85]

@@IanBeacraft all was really good but I like the focus on the importance of these tools for us to use to help our flow and process and how those who use them now will be of high value. I think more and more are adapting but there is still a lot of push back. 🤍 we will get there

[@IanBeacraft]

@@AmberCox85 thanks, Amber! Given how everything is changing so fast, most people are going to respond with fear rather than excitement. It's an understandable response, but when more people start living more productive and fulfilling lives, more of them will come along. I'm grossly oversimplifying, but more people need to see that they also have access to these capabilities. It's not just for the privileged anymore.

[@AmberCox85]

@@IanBeacraft exactly! I have a background in 3D design , music production and spent 5 years in art school. These tools are incredible and I can accomplish so much more in my day w them. (Which allocates more time to other cool projects) Why would I want to wait 3 hrs for an octane render when I can create the same concept and better in midjourney. This happens w every new technology, and with time, it will be normalized.

[@JoeyBlogs007]

Problem is there already too many people wondering around the streets detached from reality and with serious psychological disorders.

[@HJo-l1y]

And military industrial complex societies aren't? Hah 💀

[@HJo-l1y]

You act like you have to be broke to have mental illnesses and that a big misconception. You can be rich as hell and be mentally ill.

[@genecastillo8]

Will the metaverse drag AI down? Feels like metaverse needs a lift and will try to hop on the AI bandwagon which I totally understand but also dilutes the value and promise of AI.

[@brianj7204]

drag down? what are you on about? AI does not fundamentally change because something like the metaverse uses this technology to its advantage...

[@brandonchambers399]

Metaverse will give AI data. Think how much info eye tracking will gather if the metaverse gets off the ground.

[@alwaysyouramanda]

I recommend BladeRunner 2049. It’s especially relevant today.

[@alwaysyouramanda]

@@brandonchambers399 I’ve been thinking hard on that-!! We’ve had “big food” “big Pharma.” This though- this is the dawn of Big Data!!! I picture a future where even prosthetic limbs are given out for free because of the research value. (Neuralink will be a big player if they make it out to the public.)

[@m0ose0909]

That's not how it works. It's not like the engineers working on vr or ar are sucking the resources away from AI. It's actually likely to be the opposite as they are synergistic and there will also be plenty of non-metaverse applications of AI

[@twelvegrain1111]

Anyone else beginning to feel like AI is just going to be used by people to create more garbage? For sure there will be some amazing discoveries and creations, but I kinda feel like it’s ultimately going to be a garbage factory. I mean, how many actually cool ideas are there compared to crap ideas? Hardly any of the things this guy presented actually looked compelling. I find it hard to get excited about everyone with half a brain plopping out shiny turds left and right. Maybe shiny, but still turds. Kinda wonder if AI is going to be like like VR. Cool in concept, but after a while not that great. I stopped using my Oculus Quest well over a year ago. It just wasn’t that enjoyable. Still game on my PS4 and PC though. I guess I’m just feeling like AI will only be really useful for billionaires, people who are really smart, and people who want to create chemical weapons in their basement. Hmm… guess I’m not buying into the hype.

[@gabrielbrina]

Amazing

[@whalespurtsoddengrass475]

Sales sales sales. Listening to businessmen is boring because they can't think about anything else. This presentation is for profit futurists, not technologists or pure futurists. Don't let them trick you. Growth? Of what.

[@winsomehax]

No, AI is not the metaverse or crypto. Those were both trashfires. What Large Language Models (like ChatGPT) can do right now will cause a jobs apocalypse. I mean RIGHT NOW, not promises. The acceleration in AI will already upend TV and movies. You can, right now, redub a movie in another language using a clone of the actor's voice and alter the image (lips, jaw) to match the new language. You can do this with already existing films. A vast back catalogue suddenly became perfect for a foreign market. Medicine and education are similarly undergoing a vast reorg. It's only if you think we are about to create AGI and a god that you are overselling it. We really aren't about to do that. We are about to revolutionise the economy though. Ignore the flapping about hate and misogyny. It's just activists trying to ensure the AI is forced to wear blinders so it's only allows to make decisions they agree with.

[@IanBeacraft]

Hey @winsomehax - we're pretty aligned regarding what's happening in production - however, this isn't destroying jobs. It's allowing artists to do orders of magnitude more with their existing skill set. Check out 13:44 for a few examples of what some of our teammates are doing with the new technology.

[@bloopbleepnothinghere]

I find it so hard to talk about why AI is not like anything else. I think anyone comparing what is happening today to anything else in the past has already made a mistake. So saying AI's rise is something like crypto has missed the point. AI has already upended the world in such a fundamental way, we just haven't fully realized it yet. It's almost impossible to describe quite how fundamentally everything is changed. We could spend hours listing out all the ways AI is being applied, I hadn't even thought about movie dubbing, and there are millions of other applications other people are working on that I also don't know about. Soon some of these applications are going to reach a level of maturity and the public will start to wake up. When the public starts to see what has been going on, when your average business owner, creator, decision maker sees what their competition is starting to do, it's gonna be like a tsunami. There just isn't enough time to dissect it all, to describe all the ways. It's already too late, there is no way we can keep up. You could listen to podcasts all day about the myriad of advances that happen hourly. It's like the web rolling out in the 1990s but not held back by infrastructure, cost, or even public acceptance. This is all happening at warp speed, and each of us has already been left behind. Catching up is dizzying.

[@megangallaher4011]

“As a part owner in a production company” ah, so the speaker has a stake in the media industry. Should we be prioritising the production of even more digital content when there are more pertinent issues in the world?

[@angloland4539]

❤

[@michaelrichardson8573]

The job swapping part only half makes sense. For example if anyone can jump in and do the work of a corporate attorney then they are no long worth $300k or whatever they earn a year. The effect is to erode the value of any highly educated professional.

[@vanrozay8871]

Out at 7:48. He seems to conveniently ignore medical breakthroughs post-1970, DNA, Crispr, cell phones, 'Net, AI, robotics. To me, those are pretty world-changing developments, as sweeping as thge earlier ones.

[@AdonisGaming93]

that's his point... that the author of that book was wrong

[@IanBeacraft]

Couldn’t agree more @vanrozay8871 The amount of advancement we’ve seen in the last 50 years is astounding. However, the metric Robert J Gordon mentions is Productivity Growth as a function of per Employee output, and by that metric, he’s right. 1870-1970 absolutely dominates. But AI is about to change that… dramatically.

[@chiomaukpaka6403]

I think what the world needs right now is more enlightenment on how AI functions and its pros and cons. Even though so many people have joined the queue but still they are yet to appreciate the real meaning of AI. We can't dispute the fact that we have platforms like AIWork keeping it real with including AI and special features in the matters of the media.

[@GorilieVR]

Instead of saying the best is in past or far in the future, perhaps the present time is always the best because it's undecided 😊

[@funmeister]

Comparing the transformative effects of crypto and metaverse to AI is like comparing a bicycle to an existing starship.

[@TheKarolism]

How so?

[@reiniergamboa]

burn baby burn...bring on the apocalypse

[@draken5379]

AI different. Because it attually can fill a lot of the exceptions we have of it, unless the metaverse or VR which is a much slower moving beast.

[@islab2458]

I love how the comments are talking about how "depressing" the video is when the comments themselves are FAR more depressing. x) "Oh no, making art more easily and customizing the world around us and working with great quality in a fraction of the time all by yourself, how horrible, what an awful future." Even if he's wrong, I can't imagine thinking it's cool to expect all that to flop. Loved what he said about progress happening with every funeral; you all can go rot and I'm gonna customize my whole life and have a robot lover, good fucking luck. :D

[@Low_commotion]

I know right? These comments depress me, that people (and I bet many of them consider themselves "progressive") are so opposed to _actual progress._ More leisure time and resources, eventually it will be like Friends; you really _can_ stay at the coffee shop all day. Of course, these people only believe that such things can come from hanging the right billionaires as if the world already has enough resources, when really we don't have nearly enough because we don't have enough skilled labor hours to use on raw materials. Hence, automation and eventually space-borne resource extraction from the moon and asteroid belt.

[@ryan3982]

wow

[@djdannyiLL]

Major Gem Here --> 13:35

[@IanBeacraft]

Welcome to the Age of the Creative Generalist...

[@luisdireito]

I'm not a technophobe whatsoever, but I'm sorry, I just can't get excited about this new hypertechnological world we're stepping into. To me there's nothing fascinating about it. On the contrary, I find it extremely depressing. (And no, I'm not some grumpy old man, I'm in my 30's.)

[@danny.golcman6846]

why do you find it deppresing?

[@luisdireito]

@@danny.golcman6846 because it is. It would be depressing to live in a world where you can't tell what is real and what is fake; where you can't trust anyone; where you depend on machines with an artifical intelligence to get a job, to get a loan, to succeed, to be validated; where humans finally become pretty much useless and brainless and rely on AI to do every single thing instantly, without putting any effort and thought into it - as if we weren't already zombie-like enough; where optimization is more important than creativity; where art isn't actually art, in the true sense of the word, but some pseudo-nonsense regurgitated by an AI that received some prompt; where every step, every action, every single second of your life is surveilled, controlled, analysed; where freedom and privacy are a thing of the past, and no one really minds about that; a world where humans see themselves as gods, but they're actually slaves. A world where you gradually lose your identity, your agency, your sense of purpose, without even noticing it, till you eventually become a machine yourself. A world where everything is artifical, not only intelligence. There's a reason why the word "dystopian" exists.

[@michaelstone3463]

Things may be *great* for the Eloi (1%), but the Morlocks (99%) will be SCREWED.

[@SageAwakens]

Here's what I'm trying to figure out, what problem does the metaverse solve that current social media sites and video platforms like KZbin don't already solve? AI saves time, lots of time, so it solves a clear and obvious problem. But what does the metaverse do? To my eyes, they are not that different from videogames. But what do you think? I'm genuinely curious.

[@metasourcegames]

With a lot of Metaverse projects you actually own your assets and you can trade them with others, like in Castles NFT. If its on a blockchain then they can be interoperable across many chains. If most modern digital games or projects nothing is really tradeable and you only license the ability to use them, instead of own.

[@alwaysyouramanda]

Presence. My headset is unbelievably uncomfortable and laggy so I rarely bother to use it, but I can see already just how big this will be- especially when we can augment reality in real time..

[@Nattyog]

You are able to virtually interact with everybody on the planet instantaneously. That’s huge!

[@SageAwakens]

@@metasourcegames but not all nfts transfer copyright ownership right? And who enforced the NFT contract? In the real world, we have lawyers to fight in behalf of us for the intellectual property we own. If I'm not mistaken, NFTs are not subject to the same treatment correct? If it's not enforceable then it's just a false promise right?

[@SageAwakens]

@@alwaysyouramanda I can understand this point. When it's possible to duplicate even the physical senses of reality to the digital world, then maybe it would be a very attractive prospect.

[@Guitar6ty]

Elon Musk has it right on this one, the next step of human evolution will be augmentation. The human with AI augmentation. Prior to that who is going to fix your plumbing or mend your squeaking door or pick up your dog waste.

[@AudioLemon]

With great power comes no responsibility.

[@sandeshpandit5540]

Please someone explain this to me, how is it possible in country that more males are single than women, if we assume the ratio is 50:50. If, so many males are single then who are these women dating? men from other country? or one male is dating more than one female?? what is it?

[@PortmanRd]

Oh no! Virtual reality Realtors.

[@TheDigitalVillain]

Technocapitalism What could possibly go wrong? 💀

[@Wanderer2035]

Can anyone name me one job that the AGI will create in the AI revolution? … and prompt engineering doesn’t count

[@Larrythebassman]

👏👏👏👏 totally 😎 😎cool

[@theneedytechie2468]

What makes this guy eligible to talk on this, so many factors looked over and very school like presentation

[@andybaldman]

Cocaine.

[@IanBeacraft]

Hey @theneedytechie2468 can you describe what you mean by school like?I’m always focused on making my content better and one of the ways I do that is by listening to others, especially those who disagree with me.

[@deusxyz]

... what if we don't want 20 jobs at once lmao

[@IanBeacraft]

ooff.. 20 jobs at once sounds like a lot. I get tired with just one!

[@erikcable1755]

layoffs are sure to happen here. Corporations must count on caring for the replaced worker, who has lost his home and is nowhere to live now. No income other than an EBT card and unemployment or welfare. The lucky worker who still has a job can take over payments on the house and cars. Construction of residential high-rise buildings should be paid for by the mega-rich people. Congress needs to be replaced.

[@zubisstar508]

22:53

[@lancelotfavorites]

Sorry, who is the speaker?

[@andybaldman]

Nobody.

[@IanBeacraft]

@@andybaldman I'll take that as my new nickname.

[@IanBeacraft]

Hey Lancelot. This is a recording of my speech at SXSW.

[@BrianLife]

@@IanBeacraft I appreciate you.

[@IanBeacraft]

@@BrianLife Thank you, Brian!

[@yingle6027]

Ai will be the downfall of humanity. No thanks.

[@iamsimonngubeni]

16:17

[@IanBeacraft]

crazy, right?

[@iamsimonngubeni]

So brilliant! Thanks for the very insightful talk Ian. Just subscribed to your channel.

[@ishhanian]

AI - definitely. The metaverse - definitely not.

[@ardagenc4674]

Dont think metaverse as something like ready player one. Think about all the content that will be created by ai in the future, at that point we will want authenticty and in the digital medium NFTs will provide this. Metaverse will be your computer, phone any platform that is digital and offers a new way to earn and combine it with the old ways of engage with people like social media or gaming

[@fekete-kiss-sandor]

This metaprison looks not sympethetic to me. Gpt is, but this agressive selling of virtual community experience is a pity fraud manipulation. No, thank you.

[@DeepfriedBaby]

had to play this at x0.75 - talking a little fast.

[@thomasucc]

Really

[@dik9091]

how can something that just collapsed shape society?

[@Dashman100]

What you do after Neuralink evolve and Quantum scanner uploads your brain on Metaverse and simulate it. Everything will be AI & Metaverse after 2050s.

[@IanBeacraft]

I'm intrigued by the premise, but I think there's too much we don't know about the biology of the mind right now for any of that to be feasible, yet. Although, with AI and quantum computing, we'll likely unlock more secrets of the body, mind, and environment in the next 20 years than we have in the last 200 combined.

[@milenatos]

The level of gaslighting here is absolutely disgusting

[@IanBeacraft]

Hi @milenatos it sounds like you feel passionately about this. Can you tell me more?

[@olacraig2883]

Definitely spoken from a flat model 2D first perspective without understanding the impact of AGI works or what the long term impact it can have (even short term)based on how quickly deep learning evolves in not only self learning but superseding human intelligence in not only self instructing but self deploying outside of set instructions. Definitely lizard material and intentionally deceptive presentation. Yes, just as the vax was effective, eh? This is the danger of not having a soul but controlling this kind of technology, you can’t see the harm because that perspective is lost. AI can never be seen as a ‘being’, or entity as opposed to a tool. When that basic ideology is lost on any level, it becomes a dangerously weaponized enemy that may not be controllable just based on the failed human state.

[@arifulislamleeton]

1

[@bjorno7573]

This unfortunately and ironically, is the negative side of a being naively optimistic 😊.” I can hop into any role I want to at any time I need to”. This is, to me, an extremely arrogant statement bordering to narcissistic… in every job it takes understanding, some form of intelligence, decision making and Experience knowing what decisions to make, no matter how “knowledgeable” (and I use this term a bit cynically) your “AI assistance” is. Honestly this speech makes me want to throw up…. (Note that I am talking about the speech itself, NOT the person. I am sure that he is a gentle soul, blind as he is as any member of a religious leader )

[@PortmanRd]

Transhuman/A.I's spreading throughout the universe assimilating any intelligent species that stood in our way. 🤔Hmm... That rings a bell. Something about futility. 😅

[@GlennGreen-de8pf]

How are 63% of men in their 20s single, almost double the number of women in their 20's unless the women are in relationships with men not in their 20s or with other women? Help me with the math. (I'm not discounting the end of traditional masculine roles ..., just questioning the math.)

[@toCatchAnAI]

Just Metaverse trying to tie with AI Hype. AI is way beyond digital.

[@andybaldman]

How incompetent is SXSW that they can't identify the speaker's name in either the video title or description? All this talk of AI, meanwhile humans are getting dumber and dumber as a result of technology.

[@4mIlr]

AI and crypto will Shape Society

[@mattrusingmail]

This is not going to age well 🤦‍♂️

[@alwaysyouramanda]

“A person using ai will take away a job.” Try maybe hundreds or thousands of jobs. 😂

[@IanBeacraft]

Hey @mattrusingmail it sounds like you have some thoughts about it. I’m curious to hear them. The only way I improve my work is by listening to others, especially those that disagree with me.

[@handsanitizer2457]

It's likely ai will be the buzz and the metaverse and crypto will be forgotten except my con artists and random people who want to monetize games. It's something us geeks will play with and some finance guys. But it's likely going to be over shadowed by ai.

[@IanBeacraft]

Crypto and the Metaverse as they were hyped in the last few years had serious issues. They became marketing ploys, much to the detriment of their actual promise. The real capability of these technologies lies in the infrastructure. However, that's not really sexy, so no one wants to talk about that. It's like getting really hyped over hypertext transfer protocol in the early nineties. That's harder to sell than visions of fantastic futures that are edited in post.

[@honkytonk4465]

what do you mean?

[@IanBeacraft]

I have no idea. I've just spent a lot of time sampling other sources of information and have gotten good at putting one word after the other and guessing what should come next...